A tow body arrangement for a towable device in a sonar system includes a bridle having a front for connecting to a first tow cable and back for connecting to a second tow cable. The tow body arrangement also includes a tow body rotatably connected to the bridle between the front and back of the bridle. The tow body is shaped to generate hydrodynamic forces tending to rotate the tow body perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the bridle.

A sandwich cable fairing designed for attachment to cables that are towed at operational speeds by marine vessels. The sandwich cable fairing has a design that combines layers of elastic and damping materials. The fairing dampens the vibration caused when the cable is towed at operational speeds. The outer layers (bread) of the fairing are made from a material with a modulus of elasticity that provides a desired amount of stiffness. In the middle of the sandwich cable fairing is damping layer made from a viscoelastic material. The layering of materials allows the fairing to have the flexibility to be crushed by cable equipment while maintaining the requisite stiffness to reducing flapping and the resulting vibration.

An apparatus. The apparatus includes a body and a plurality of control surfaces attached to the body. A first control surface is configured to control an ascent and descent of the apparatus, responsive to ascent/descent control information. A second control surface is configured to control a roll of the apparatus responsive to roll control information, and a third control surface is configured to control a yaw of the apparatus responsive to yaw control information. The apparatus further includes a releasable first docking fixture attached to the body, the first docking fixture configured to engage a second docking fixture on a payload.

A method for handling a cable that is faired by means of a fairing, the cable towed by a ship on board which there is a winch allowing the faired cable to be wound in and paid out through a faired-cable guide device, the method comprises: a first step of monitoring the cable, making it possible to detect whether the fairing is experiencing a double twist around the cable comprising an immersed full twist and an airborne full twist, and, when a double twist is detected, a first step of hauling in the faired cable, during which step the faired cable is hauled in, the first hauling step being carried out in such a way that the immersed full twist at least partially leaves the water and does not enter the guide device.

A foil having a leading edge, trailing edge, chord and span is attached between a first head float position and bottom submerged position below the head float on the array. The foil being flexible along its span and has a first interior conduit rearward of the leading edge and a second interior conduit forward of the trailing edge. The conduits are centered on the chord and separated by a distance. A first cable having a first length is strung inside the first conduit and a second cable having a second length is strung inside the second conduit, and an adjustment mechanism is used to vary the length of the first cable relative to the length of the second cable and vice versa.

A system can include a float, a winch, a line, and a collapsible fairing. The winch can be coupled to the float. The line can be associated with the winch, where the winch is configured to extend and retract the line. The collapsible fairing can surround the line. Extension and retraction of the line can cause the collapsible fairing to extend and collapse.

A skeg mounts from the stern of a towing vessel and extends below the waterline. A channel in the skeg protects cables for steamers and a source (e.g., air gun array) of a seismic system deployed from the vessel. Tow points on the skeg lie below the water's surface and connect to towlines to support the steamers and the source. A floatation device supports the source and tows below the water's surface to avoid ice floes or other issues encountered at the water's surface. Seismic streamers have head floats supporting the streamers. Each of the floats has adjustable buoyancy preconfigured to counterbalance the weight in water of the towed component that the float supports. Acoustic signals from a transceiver at the vessel find locations of the towed components. A towed fish at a lower level than the towed components also uses acoustic signals with a transceiver to further refine the locations of the towed components.

A fairing intended to fair an elongate object intended to be at least partially immersed, the fairing comprises a plurality of fairing portions, each fairing portion comprising a plurality of fairing elements, the fairing elements comprising a canal intended to accept the elongate object and being profiled in such a way as to reduce the hydrodynamic drag of the at least partially immersed elongate object, the fairing elements being intended to be pivot-mounted on the elongate element around the longitudinal axis of the canal, the fairing elements being joined together along the axis of the canal and articulated to one another, the portions of fairing rotating freely about the canal relative to one another.

A spreading device for trawl fishing, seismic survey operations or other water activities where it is desirable to keep distance between two sides of a towed device is provided, the spreading device having at least one part comprising two or more foils, where each foil has a front surface and a rear surface, the surfaces each being defined by two edges and two side limitations, in use being front and rear edges, an upper and lower side limitations connected to respective upper and lower frames, where at least one foil is stationary and where one or more sections of another foil is pivotably connected to the another foil, such that the section may be moved from a position where the surface of the section is flush with the surface of the another foil, to a position where the surface is out of plane with the surface of the another foil.

A fairing for suppressing a vortex induced vibration (VIV) of a tubular including an encircling member dimensioned to encircle a tubular, the encircling member having a first side that extends toward a second side when the encircling member is positioned around a tubular. The fairing further including a support member positioned between the first side and the second side, the support member having a channel formed therein, and an opening to the channel is positioned between the first side and the second side. In addition, the fairing includes a tail member positioned within the channel, the tail member having a substantially planar surface that extends radially outward from the channel.